


Loose Ends

by pomegrenadier



Series: Knife to a Gunfight [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Murder, Past Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pomegrenadier/pseuds/pomegrenadier
Summary: Cipher Nine tracks down the last surviving member of Ardun Kothe's team.
Relationships: Past Hunter (Star Wars: The Old Republic)/Male Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine
Series: Knife to a Gunfight [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010199
Comments: 12
Kudos: 47





	Loose Ends

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the IA class story.

The spaceport hotel room is of middling quality, generic as they come. A bed, a desk, a holoprojector, a closet, a 'fresher. Dull walls, window overlooking a speeder landing pad. Security here is abysmal; its only advantage is that it's so unremarkable that it's easily overlooked.

By amateurs, anyway.

Chance returns in the late evening, clattering into the room with a hunted look. He seals the door behind him, engages the manual bolt, and sighs in relief when it clicks home. Then he wanders deeper inside, angling towards the datapad left on the desk.

Cipher Nine breaks stealth with a faint digital hiss. "You're looking well."

Chance whirls, and the blood drains from his face. "L-Legate? No—keyword onomatophobia _don't move—"_

Cipher Nine stalks forward and shoves him into the desk chair. It slides back with the force of impact, hits the wall with a thump. "Hello, Chance," he says sweetly, as the SIS agent stares up at him, frozen, clutching the armrests. "I take it you heard what happened to your little friends."

Chance flinches. "Kothe was right about you. The whole time, you were—"

"Lying?" Cipher Nine smiles and perches on the desk, cornering him. "Always."

"How—how did you—the keyword, you can't disobey orders, how did ...?"

"Yes. The keyword. You found a trigger in my head. All those kind words, all that lovely sympathy, and the instant you got scared, you pulled it. You, Hunter, Kothe ... Saber and Wheel never got around to it, but they certainly never objected. Why, it's enough to make an agent feel a little ... _used."_

"And you killed them all!" Chance bursts out. "You killed them, you fucking—"

"Of course I killed them," Cipher Nine says patiently. No need to mention Hunter's escape or true loyalties. It won't make a difference in the end. "I did have a mission to complete. Revenge was a pleasant bonus."

"It wasn't us! The Empire did that to you, not us!"

He laughs. "Aren't you precious." He shifts his voice, warm and soft and soothing, dripping poison. "It's okay, Chance, really. You didn't brainwash anyone. You aren't responsible. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. You did what you had to do. You had no reason to trust me. You had no reason not to leave me alone with Hunter. You had no choice but to use the keyword. I understand completely. _There's nothing to forgive."_

Chance is terrified, but to his credit, he's still paying attention. "I—wait, Hunter? What _about_ Hunter?"

"Oh, he raped me," Cipher Nine says with a shrug. "Unsurprising, to be perfectly honest. What's one more violation when you're already a flesh puppet?"

"No. No, it's not the same, it's not—he wouldn't. You're lying. You're a _liar._ He wouldn't do that! We didn't—"

"Chance," says Cipher Nine, giving him a pitying look, "I really do not give a damn whether or not you believe me."

"Then why bring it up at all?" Chance demands.

"You did ask," he says, amused. "And you were so very _kind_ to me, Chance. I owe you that much." He stands up, and Chance shrinks back. "Now. Before I kill you, I do have one question."

"I'm not telling you anything!"

He raises an eyebrow. "Fair enough." He levels his blaster at Chance's forehead.

Chance cringes, trembling; he raises his hands as if to ward off his execution. "Wait, wait, wait, please—ask your question, maybe we can—maybe we can work something out—please—"

Cipher Nine shoots him. The body slumps in the chair, the hole in its head smoking gently. He sighs. "Well, that answers that," he mutters. "Kothe was wrong about you."

He activates his stealth field and ghosts out of the room.

Four down. One to go.


End file.
